Japan contracts faster than expected

FT.com

By Mure Dickie in Tokyo

Japan’s gross domestic product contracted much more rapidly in the third quarter than previously thought, official data showed on Tuesday, amid new indications of distress in the world’s second-biggest economy.

The revised GDP data showed a quarter-on-quarter fall of 0.5 per cent for the three months to September, compared with last month’s preliminary estimate of a 0.1 per cent decline.